The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing ions by surface ionization of energy-rich molecules and atoms.
Surface ionization is widely used in ion sources of various types, from miniature surfaces for the purpose of mass-spectrometric and analytic applications, to powerful sources of industrial installations for isotope separation and also for jet propulsion. The conventional technique for surface ionization presently used is to heat a metal surface, such as a metal wire, in order to volatilize the ions and to gain the metal surface work function.